Southern California -- this just in

O.C. foster parent charged in sex assault of girls in his home

A Santa Ana foster parent has been charged with sexually assaulting three girls who lived in his home, who were 9, 11 and 15 at the time of the alleged crimes, authorities said Thursday.

Felipe Hernandez, 66, has been charged with multiple felony counts related to the rape and molestation of the minors. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 65 years in state prison and have to register as a lifetime sex offender, according to a joint statement from the Orange County district attorney's office and the Santa Ana Police Department.

Hernandez is being held on $1-million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.

Authorities said that between Feb. 1, 2006, and March 31, 2006, Hernandez allegedly used force to rape and molest a 9-year-old girl.

Between Jan. 1, 2009, and Aug. 21 of last year, Hernandez is accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl. Authorities said Hernandez allegedly told the 15-year-old that he would not give her money and threatened to take away her cellphone and laptop if she did not comply.

Then, between Dec. 6, 2006, and Aug. 21, he is accused of raping an 11-year-old girl several times.

The investigation began after a family member of Hernandez discovered a memory card that allegedly contained a video of him inappropriately touching the 15-year-old girl, and the family reported it to Santa Ana police.

Authorities said the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Supervising Dist. Atty. Investigator Anthony Sosnowski at (714) 347-8794 or Det. Ed Zaragoza of the Santa Ana Police Department at (714) 245-8386.